Kavita Kurbati, 18, sits inside her family home in the bustling town of Gokak,
India, waiting for a customer. She wears a red and white flowered salwar kameez and her two daughters, Rakshita (3) and Chaitra (1), sleep peacefully at her feet. When Kavita reached puberty, her mother, drawing on an ancient religious tradition, dedicated...more »

Kavita Kurbati, 18, sits inside her family home in the bustling town of Gokak,
India, waiting for a customer. She wears a red and white flowered salwar kameez and her two daughters, Rakshita (3) and Chaitra (1), sleep peacefully at her feet. When Kavita reached puberty, her mother, drawing on an ancient religious tradition, dedicated her to the Hindu deity, Yellamma, thus turning her daughter into a Devadasi or "female servant of god". This meant that Kavita was "married" to Yellamma, which made her ineligible to marry a mortal. Instead,
as a means of pleasing Yellamma and bringing better fortunes to her family, she would serve as a "temple prostitute", satisfying the needs of men in her community.

While her position as a "temple prostitute" has its roots in an ancient and complex religious tradition
practiced in India since as early as the 9th century, as a modern Devadasi, she lives as a common sex worker. With her earnings of approximately 300 rupees a day (just over $6), she supports her mother, father, three sisters, two brothers and daughters.

Like Japan's geishas, Devadasis were once revered within the community and financially supported by higher caste men; however, over time their position has been denigrated and today there is little to distinguish them from other sex workers. The most recent iteration of the system simply uses the religious tradition to funnel girls from impoverished, lower caste families into the lucrative sex trade industry in India's urban centers.« less